


Keep your Head Up

by serafina19



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 00:06:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6063231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serafina19/pseuds/serafina19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy visits Daniel to let him know what happened to Ana. Takes places post-2x07.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep your Head Up

At this moment, all Peggy wanted was to close her eyes and forget everything that occurred over the last twenty-four hours. Most notably the fact she was entertaining the idea that maybe, for once, Thompson was right.  
  
For someone who went out of his way to climb the ladder, she appreciated the odd sign of compassion that he showed. His execution was never going to be enough to change her mind, but the effort was there. That was at least worth something, even though it was only a matter of time before they were on opposing sides. If they weren't already there. Again.  
  
Yet that didn't stop his words from echoing in her head, because right now, they felt accurate. She got overconfident and people got hurt because of it.

She knew that she had to get out of the hospital, escape the way it seemed to keep the air from her lungs. Even Jarvis of all people had sensed it, as it was his idea that she go see Daniel after her call was directed to Vernon Masters at the SSR. While that wasn't promising, it wasn't like this was an official mission and they were following regular protocol, so they could adjust accordingly.  
  
However, when she parked her car, Peggy realized that her guilt hadn't subsided at all. Of course, that made sense considering she had affected his home life as well. Daniel had tried to move on in California, but without even trying, she was a major factor for why Violet had left him. Possibly the only factor. And while part of Peggy wanted to feel flattered, or some sense of positive emotion from what that fall-out meant, it was impossible. The timing, as usual, wasn't great, and knowing that they caused an innocent person's sadness, even by accident, wouldn't likely sit well with either of them.

That couldn't stop them from talking though. Daniel was committed to being a member of the team and Peggy had to catch him up regarding last night. After getting out of her car, she walked slowly up to the door, ready to knock.

"Hey Carter, it's open."

Peggy paused, wondering how he knew it was her. But after thinking about it some more, she realized that Violet was the closest thing to a friend of his that she had met here. And considering what happened between them, it wasn't a stretch for him to think that Violet wasn't coming back.  
  
She opened the door and took a few steps inside before she noticed him sitting on the couch. "Are you sure that it's wise to leave your door unlocked?"

What she didn't know was that Daniel had just got off the phone with Rose, explaining the situation and trying to figure out how to make the most of this. If nothing else, it was good to still have someone they trusted at the SSR.  
  
But once Peggy's words registered, he couldn't help but scoff. "Anything that would happen to me already has," he said before grabbing his crutch, hating that she would see him grimace as he got up.

All Masters wanted from him was loyalty, or, if he refused, his post as chief, so Daniel was pretty convinced that his life wasn't in any danger yet. Besides, it wasn't like it was a habit that he intended to keep, as he expected Peggy would figure out what happened and stop by.  
  
By the time he looked up and saw her face, he tried not to feel disappointed. He didn't get pity much from her, and it was clear that she was trying to hold it back. At least this time felt earned, as the beating had left its bruises.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked, as what he had said didn't do much to sway her concern. The blanks were easy enough to fill, a dirty trick by Vernon Masters no doubt, and she could tell that Daniel wasn't shocked by it either.  
  
But that wasn't comforting, especially since she could tell how much harder it was for him to walk. Trying to help, she walked towards him, unable to ignore how it was him telling her to take it easy just a few days ago.

Luckily, he recognized what she was doing and stopped walking. "Been better," he said. "It has to be better than rebar though. How are the stitches?"

"Holding up." She sighed as she looked towards the window.  "I wish I could say the same for Jarvis right now."

That shot Daniel back to reality. All this time he had been living in his own world, dealing with his own problems, and he had completely forgot about the mission. "I'm sorry, Ana called me, but I didn't–"

"Ana was shot." Peggy wanted to change the subject to anything else, but she couldn't, not even when she saw the guilt flash on his face, knowing all too well what he was thinking. "There's nothing you could have done. I thought we were walking into a trap, but instead, we left Jason and Ana vulnerable. Jason was taken and I don't know if Ana's going to make it. I only left so..."

Her voice trailed, but he could figure out the potential endings for that sentence. He hobbled a couple of steps, stopping within a few feet of her. "Stop."

Peggy blinked a few times, not realizing how much she had spaced out. "What?"

"Now you're the one blaming yourself, and you know better than anyone that won't do any good." Reaching out, he took her hand in his, damning whatever signal it might send. "You've gotten through worse than this, and we will get through this."

"Look at what this has caused, Daniel."  With her other hand, she pointed to him. "You're clearly hurt, Jarvis is waiting for any sign of hope, Dottie's gone." Quite the embarrassing recap as it felt like an endless domino effect. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Jack said–"

For Daniel, that was the last straw. "Screw what he said," he told her, not even knowing what Thompson had said. But considering how cowardly their New York chief was, any advice he gave to her couldn’t have been great. "Maybe last night wasn't our strongest outing, maybe we've made our share of mistakes, but we can't give up. We're onto something, and we need you."  
  
Her face hadn't changed so he dropped his crutch to take her other hand, successfully getting her attention. "We all believe in you, Peg. Trust me, Ana will recover, Jarvis will still value your friendship, and I can take a few bruised ribs."  He watched her open her mouth, but he cut her off. "Or did you forget that I'm in this with you until the end?"

Technically, it wasn't the easy choice, but it felt easy to him, and it was the right one. Daniel couldn't be like Jack and just sit by while powerful people brought chaos to others. In fact, that made him sick.

While hearing Daniel reaffirm his allegiance was reassuring, her grin still fell. "I can't make you sacrifice everything," she said, as by her tally, his job and Violet was already too much.

He wasn't nearly as fazed by that as she was. "Why not? You are." After all, she was the clear patsy if anything went wrong, which was all kinds of wrong.

"Daniel–"

"Unless you're going to say that we're going to beat this, I don't want to hear it," he interjected, suddenly recognizing how riled up he was. Taking a deep breath, he smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "Look, I know you think that you have to carry the world on your shoulders, but we're here. Let us take a little weight."

Peggy pursed her lips before leaning down to pick up his crutch. Deep down, she liked to think that she wasn't backing down, but what Daniel had just said lifted her spirits and she owed him a moment to show him how much she appreciated it. So she smiled as she handed the crutch back to him, relieved to see him return the expression. After all, someone in this team needed a win.  
  
And for a second, it was just them, standing in his house, the silence taking over. It allowed Peggy to remember what had been said and done between them, not just in the van a few nights ago, but since they met. How they had really started to trust each other and let nothing stand in their way to do the right thing. She was so relieved to have him on the team this time. Honestly, she was grateful to have him back in her life.  
  
Eventually, he cleared his throat and broke eye contact, so Peggy re-focused the conversation, albeit poorly. "I don't have a plan for getting Dr. Wilkes back," she said.

_Right... that_ , he thought. "How was he taken?"

Peggy noticed the change in his expression, as this time, Jarvis' words were on her mind. The thing was, that wasn't the reason she brought up Dr. Wilkes. "I'm assuming he had more zero matter in him, because I saw him being carried on someone's shoulder."

After a nod, he said, "At least that in itself is a victory of sorts."  He took a step back, trying his best to grin before adding, "I guess you're pretty happy that we're making progress when it comes to him."

He had tried, but Peggy could see through his veiled attempt to conceal his feelings towards talking about Dr. Wilkes with her. "That's–"

Daniel put his hand up to stop her. At this point, he really didn't want to hear it. "C'mon Carter, it’s..."

He knew exactly how he was going to finish that sentence. _It's fine. I know it’s not me and I get it._

Despite the moment in the van that came and went, he was pretty confident that things between them hadn't changed that much. Still, he couldn't say it, it wasn't the time for that.

"What?" she asked understandably.

Daniel swallowed hard, knowing what he had to say next. "I know I said that we should talk, but right now, we need to focus. Things are picking up and we can't afford distractions." He sighed, trying to ignore the heaviness of his chest. "If you still want to talk once this is finished, I'm all ears."

Watching her, it was clear that she knew how he felt about her. Honestly, when it came to Peggy, he was always a bit transparent. However, even if he had never met or hurt Violet, that talk felt selfish. They had a dangerous foe in their sights and they were losing a lot of their resources. They had to keep moving and focus on the professional relationship that got them this far, no matter how much or little their personal relationship had changed.

At least, that was what he thought before he saw her nod. "I look forward to it."

And just for one second, he realized that maybe he was wrong. Maybe not today, but someday, they still had a chance. Feeling his confidence return, he said, “Okay, let’s figure out our next move.”

 

**~End~**


End file.
